Pennsylvania Teacher Fights Cystic Fibrosis With Running

Hannah Camic plans to run her third marathon in Pittsburgh on May 1.

Hannah Camic, who was born with cystic fibrosis, wins her age group at the 2015 Zack Makes A Move for Make-A-Wish 5 Miler. Elite Runners Race Management

For the first 30 years of Hannah Camic’s life, only her family and some close friends knew that she had cystic fibrosis. She didn’t want anyone to use her diagnosis as a reason to treat her differently.

It wasn’t until Camic, 32, decided to run the 2014 Pittsburgh Half Marathon as part of the Run to Cure CF Team and raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Western Pennsylvania that she decided she would tell people why the cause was so important to her. Since doing so, she has raised nearly $50,000 for the foundation, and is training to complete her second Pittsburgh Marathon (and third marathon overall) May 1.

“I thought it would be kind of selfish of me not to [share my experience], so I went out of my comfort zone and let it all out,” Camic, whose story was recently featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, told Runner’s World by phone.

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive and life-threatening genetic disease that affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. A genetic mutation causes the secretions to be thick, which results in tubes, ducts, and passageways, particularly in the lungs and pancreas, becoming clogged. The average life expectancy for a person with cystic fibrosis is 38 years.

Camic had been active earlier in life but took up running about three years ago, with the goal of getting in better shape for three upcoming family weddings. She started off with one 12-minute mile, but it wasn’t long before she transitioned from what she described as “bridesmaid training” to training for her first 5K.

“The feeling when I was done, that sense of accomplishment, that overruled the difficulty,” Camic said. “As you train more and you see yourself progressing, and some of the shorter runs get easier, it’s a great feeling while you’re doing it. Even on the bad days, when you’re done, you feel great.”

Camic has now run 53 races in less than three years, and she’s lowered her 5K time from 34:19 to 25:07.

As a mother to a five-year-old daughter and a full-time high school chemistry and forensic science teacher, finding time to train for a marathon is hard enough. But Camic’s cystic fibrosis also requires her to spend three to four hours per day wearing a vest that helps break up the mucus in her lungs and using a nebulizer that administers medication in the form of a mist.

Camic wakes up at 4:00 a.m. most days to do at least 90 minutes of treatment. On weekdays, she runs after school, and then she does another 90–120 minutes of treatment in the evening. While doing her treatment, Camic is anchored to one spot.

“As a teacher, I get my papers graded really fast,” Camic said. “I’ve got a lot of time on my hands at night and in the morning when I’m sitting there.”

Camic says that while researchers are developing great new drugs to treat cystic fibrosis, none of the drugs currently on the market treat her particular form of the disease.

That’s one of the reasons her doctors are encouraging of her running—it’s one of the best forms of treatment available for someone with Camic’s particular gene mutations. Though Camic spends some of her runs coughing most of the way, running helps clear out the mucus in her lungs.

“It’s almost like that’s the medicine for me, for now,” Camic said. “I’m trying to slow the progression of the disease by running.”

Camic is hoping that when it comes to the Pittsburgh Marathon race weekend, the third time’s a charm. In 2014, when she was scheduled to run the half marathon, she ended up in the hospital with gastrointestinal issues related to her cystic fibrosis. She ran the Cleveland Half Marathon two weeks later instead.

In 2015, Camic planned to do her first marathon in Pittsburgh, but six days before the race, she got sicker than she’d been at any point during the previous year. She contemplated skipping the race, but ultimately decided she had to run, because so many people had donated to her fundraising and were counting on her for inspiration.

Still sick on race day, Camic finished in 5:12:52. She was so disappointed that she tried again three weeks later at the Buffalo Marathon, despite not being fully recovered from her illness. She finished that race 12 minutes faster, in 5:00:15.

This year Camic would like to run in the vicinity of 4:30, though she says that because of the progressive nature of cystic fibrosis, her lungs aren’t as strong as they were a year ago.

Camic says says she’s finally learned that there are times when she needs to back off.

“If I have a cold or I’m not feeling great, then I do have to do a reality check and say, ‘Okay, maybe running in the 5 degree weather today is not the smartest,’” Camic said. “I’m finally at the point now where I realize that if it’s going to hurt me, I’m okay with not doing it.”

Despite Camic's fitness, she says there's no guarantee that running will extend her life.

“The scary part of [cystic fibrosis], which I don’t really let myself think about, is you could feel great, and then within a couple of months, you can spiral down pretty quickly and take a turn for the worse a lot more quickly than you would like to think is possible,” Camic said. “[My doctors] don’t really talk about that with me, and I guess I do not let myself go there, because that would do no good for me, mentally.”

Instead, Camic tries to focus on the positive and take nothing for granted.

“I definitely live life to the fullest, I’m not the type to want to lay around,” Camic said. “I’m so blessed to have an amazing family and friends. My daughter’s just like the greatest thing in the whole world and she keeps me positive, keeps me motivated, and keeps me going. I love my job, I love my students. If you totally ignore the [cystic fibrosis] part, I’ve got a really awesome life.”

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